


To the World we Dream About

by TinyButFierce



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Crystal Cave (Merlin), Druids, Gen, Magical Community, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Protective Merlin, emrys - Freeform, emrys reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23898922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyButFierce/pseuds/TinyButFierce
Summary: After embracing his role as Emrys, Merlin finds himself consumed by visions and balancing too many secrets.Captured with Arthur and the knights because of a massive misunderstanding, Merlin has to figure out how to save the people he cares about the most while also preserving the future of Albion.It may be time for a few things to come to light.
Relationships: Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 122
Kudos: 881





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome to my quarantine Merlin resurgence. I've always loved magic reveals, and those focusing on the whole Emrys thing are my favorites. I figured I might as well have a go!
> 
> This takes place in that vague after season 4 but before season 5 gap that we all like so much. 
> 
> The title comes from Hadestown, a musical that I encourage everyone to listen to! It's amazing! 
> 
> I own nothing.

Merlin always knew that all his secrets would come out eventually. He just didn’t realize that it would come out because of a mixed up piece of information from the very people who were supposedly working for him. 

He was Emrys, a fact that he had come to accept years into his position in Arthur’s service. It didn’t happen suddenly, it happened slowly. One day it just clicked. He was Emrys and his destiny had to occur. He had to do all he could to protect Arthur, but he also had to protect his people.

He began to visit the druids. Iseldir had reached out to him days after he realized his destiny, and he went with eagerness and trepidation. 

They led him to the crystal cave. They told him to go in and see what the crystals would show him. To embrace his full potential. To finally become  _ Emrys.  _

The crystals glimmered at him as he walked with confident steps through the cave. As he walked alone and nervous towards the center of magic. As he wondered whether he would come out as the same person, or as someone that he didn’t even recognize.

Arthur believed that he was off visiting his mother. He felt bad for the lie, but it was the only thing he could think of that would allow him to be gone for longer than the excuse of the tavern. He had imbued almost everything that Arthur owned with protection spells in the off chance that everything went wrong. 

His father was waiting for him at the end of the cave. 

Balinor told him everything. He showed him how the future would go wrong if he tried to stop the prophecy. He showed him how he had to take destiny into his own hands. He told him that he was proud of him.

His father faded away, and Merlin found himself collapsing to the ground as the energy of the cave swarmed into the air and into him. He found himself gasping for breath as the visions and the power  _ consumed  _ him. He saw the future and the past and he begged to be released as the burning flowed through his veins.

He woke up on the floor with a distant feeling of knowledge that he couldn’t remember and a warm feeling throughout his chest. He sat up with a groan and looked down to see a faint symbol on his chest from where his neckerchief had come undone. Frowning, he pushed his shirt to the side to see a symbol on the skin over his heart.

It was a triskelion with the silhouette of a falcon overlayed above it. 

A laugh escaped his mouth. It was a merlin falcon. 

He pushed his shirt back into place and tied his neckerchief back on. He stood up on shaky legs and peered around. Crystals glimmered at him, but he didn’t find his eyes drawn to them like they had in the past. 

_ It’s because you’ve already seen everything,  _ a voice in the back of his head said.

The light from the front of the cave flickered into view as he walked towards the exit. Stealing himself, he stepped out into the clearing to the sight of Iseldir with hundreds of druids behind him. 

Slightly shocked, he noticed Alator stepping out from the side of the crowd. That meant that the Catha were there as well. 

He wanted to shy away, wanted to tell them that he was just a servant, but then he heard Arthur’s voice in his head. Arthur wouldn’t let him be a coward now, Arthur would do this with his head held high. 

The muttering of the crowd accompanied the pounding of his heart as he walked with false confidence towards the two leaders standing in front of him. To his surprise, they bowed down before him, and the crowd followed. 

He rushed forward in embarrassment. “No. No. Please don’t bow to me. I may be Emrys, but I’m still a servant. Please don’t bow.” 

Iseldir stood with a smile, and Alator followed. 

Merlin looked around at all of the faces staring at him with hope. 

“I do not deserve this.” He said. “I have stood by and watched as terrible things happened to you. I have acted against my nature in order to stop prophecies that had not yet come to fruition. I have not done enough to stop atrocities.”

He took a breath, this was it, this was the turning point. “I promise you now that I will do everything in my power to bring about Albion and protect all of you. I will no longer stand to the side. I may still work in the shadows, but that does not mean that I will be doing nothing. I have been shown the future, and it is a bright one. That does not mean it is certain. That does not mean that, at times, it may appear as if it will not come to fruition. That future is there, and it’s that light that I am striving for. I cannot do it alone, though. I need all of you to do what you can to spread light, goodness, and this message: Emrys has come into his power, and the Once and Future King must be protected. Albion cannot occur without him, and Albion cannot occur without all of you.” 

He stopped speaking and gazed around at the faces looking at him with sheer awe and tears streaming out of their eyes. 

A movement occured in front of him as Iseldir walked up to him and held his hand out. “We swear to follow you, Emrys, and to do what we can to fulfill the future of Albion.”

Merlin beamed at him and grasped the offered hand. As he did so, a warmth flowed through his arm, and Iseldir gasped as the druidic symbol on the arm grasping Merlin’s shifted to have the silhouette of a merlin falcon overlayed on top of it. In fact, the same thing had happened to everyone in the crowd that day. 

Those sworn to Merlin were so marked, and the story of his powers and the message of the future spread across the land. 

He returned to Camelot and acted as if nothing had changed inside of him. He took care that no one was able to see the mark on his chest, being grateful for the fact that the neckerchief was already a staple in his style. He stood by Arthur’s side and protected him as he had before. He snuck out at night to meet with various magical delegates. He exchanged quiet interactions in the market as people in the know would quickly bow their head towards him.

Arthur was his same self, and Merlin was quietly glad that the rumors of Emrys had not reached him. 

It was the day after a night of meetings about the goings on in the magical community and reports as to the location of Morgana that Arthur announced he wanted to go on a hunting trip. Merlin sighed and went down to get the horses ready, cursing that this had to happen after a night with minimal sleep.

Ever since the crystal cave, he had been able to last on less sleep than before, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy the act of it.

The only thing he didn’t enjoy about sleeping was that he had begun to see visions in his dreams, most likely subconscious retellings of the things he had seen in the cave. Gaius had found it rather curious. His mind had seen the total of everything, but had sorted it away until it needed to resurface. Merlin had managed to hide whenever he felt a vision coming on, but he worried that he eventually wouldn’t be able to.

He would have to be careful on the trip to not give the knights any hint of a problem. Gaius had seen him off with a supposedly reassuring eyebrow raise as they whirled the horses around and left the citadel. 

They rode through the forest and stopped when the sun began to approach the horizon. Arthur picked a clearing a ways away from the road and Merlin made his way towards the sound of a nearby creek to get enough water so that he could start cooking the rabbits that they caught that day.

Gwaine followed him with the excuse that he would grab firewood, and spent the entire trek to the stream regaling Merlin with his latest tavern story. 

Merlin was smiling along to the idea of Gwaine having to crawl out of a window to escape paying a bill when he noticed that something was wrong. 

The container for the water fell out of his hands and he distantly heard Gwaine calling his name as the vision consumed him. 

Arthur staring at him with tears running down his face.

Chains around his hands.

Darkness.

Emptiness. 

So much emptiness.

_ It is time Emrys _ , voices whispered to him.  _ It is time for the future to be decided.  _

The whispers repeated over and over again as one vision stood out from all of the rest.

Arthur was lying on the ground, the knights around him, his sword out of reach, and cloaked figures standing around his collapsed friends. 

Merlin’s eyes snapped open as he found himself on the ground, curled into a ball with his arms around his head and Gwaine hovering nervously next to him. 

“Merlin?” Gwaine said, noticing his eyes focus. 

A realization snapped into his head.

A realization that he wished wasn’t true. 

The vision he had seen was happening right now. The cloaked figures were standing in their current campsite. 

He grabbed onto Gwaine and gasped. “Arthur’s in trouble,” he said, before shakily standing up and running as fast as he could towards camp, the crashing of Gwaine through the thickets echoing behind him. 

There, right ahead, was where his friends were unconscious on the ground. 

He bolted out of the ring of trees to the sight that he had foreseen only moments before. All of his friends were down for the count, and a cloaked figure was making their way towards his King. 

Merlin yelled and reached out his hand, prepared to blast the figure away from his best friend, when something hard hit the back of his head and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! 
> 
> I'd like to issue a giant thanks to the entire Merlin fandom for staying alive this long and rising from the waters of Avalon to defeat this pandemic together. You're getting me through this!
> 
> Comments and kudos keep me writing. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captured by sorcerers, Arthur faces a great betrayal.

Arthur woke up in a cell. He peered around, using the light leaking in from the torches on the wall outside of his cell, and found the entire round table in similar positions as him. Leon, Percival, and Elyan were in a cell to his left, and in the same one as him were Gwaine and Merlin. 

The knights appeared to be waking up, but it was the sight of Merlin that shook Arthur out of his daze. Merlin was shackled to the wall with elaborately carved cuffs, and there was blood running down the side of his head. Gwaine appeared to be rousing as Arthur cursed and scrambled over to Merlin’s side. 

He gently grabbed Merlin's head and moved it to see where the blood was coming from. Merlin let out a soft groan at the movement and Arthur muttered a quick apology. 

“They got him in the head with a rock.” Gwaine said, evidently awake enough to see what Arthur was doing. “Something happened to him in the forest and he rushed back into the clearing, didn’t notice the one who snuck up behind him.”

Arthur nodded silently before frowning. “What do you mean something happened to him in the forest?”

The knight shifted to crouch on the other side of Merlin. “He collapsed to the ground and started muttering things. Woke up and yelled that you were in trouble. The look in his eyes…” Gwaine shook his head. “He wasn’t all there.” 

“Arthur?” One of the knights from the other cell called. Gwaine took one look at Arthur’s fixated gaze and walked over to the bars to fill them in, leaving Arthur with Merlin. 

Arthur began to try and wipe away the blood from Merlin’s face when his manservant woke up.

His blurry blue eyes blinked up at Arthur as his arm shot out and grabbed Arthur’s shoulder. “Destiny must be fulfilled. So empty. So empty. It’s time.”

“Merlin…” 

“Arthur.” Merlin whispered as his eyes dropped to where his left hand was shackled. He whimpered and began to scratch at the band. 

Worried at the action, Arthur gently grabbed his hand and moved it away from the band. Merlin sagged against him and shook his head. 

“It hurts, Arthur.” 

“I know. I know. I’m sorry.” 

They stayed like that for what could only be hours. Arthur spoke quietly with the knights as Merlin sat there and stared off into the distance.

Arthur was worried. While Merlin had recovered significantly since he woke up, Arthur couldn’t help but think about what he had said at first. Gwaine’s account only helped to indicate that there was something else wrong. His eyes drifted to the shackle around his friend’s wrist. Merlin’s hand was slowly tracing it, and he wondered why it was Merlin who had the cuff.

“How are you doing Merlin?” Arthur said, lightly whacking the side of his arm. 

Merlin snorted. “I would be doing better if you didn’t hit me.” 

“That was a light tap.”

“Sure.” 

Arthur crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall next to Merlin. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself as he saw Merlin’s eyes go blank again. Gwaine sat up from where he was slumped on the other side of the cell, and he could hear the mutterings of his other knights. 

“Arthur, this is what happened last time.” Gwaine whispered as Merlin bent over with small cries escaping his mouth.

Scared for his friend, Arthur tried to lightly place his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. 

Their eyes locked and Merlin gasped out words towards the King. “The time of choosing is here. Betrayal. Betrayal is coming. Choose for the future.” Merlin’s eyes cleared as he registered what had just happened. 

To Arthur’s dismay, his friend began to cry.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Arthur. Everything is for you. Everything is for you. Whatever happens, trust me. Please trust me.”

Arthur looked up in alarm at Gwaine who was staring intently at Merlin's form. 

A thought crossed through the King’s mind. 

This wasn’t the first time someone he loved had uttered things that sounded prophetic. This wasn’t the first time that he had seen a shackle like that. _Betrayal,_ Merlin had said. 

He shook his head. No. Those thoughts were for another time. 

While he was thinking, Merlin had sat up straighter and moved towards the corner of the cell. He wiped a hand across his eyes to clear the tears, and Arthur couldn’t help but berate himself for thinking that Merlin might betray him. 

It was only a short time after that their captors appeared. Arthur had been pacing the cell, hoping to find a way out when a chuckle echoed down the hallway. They all stood up at the noise, the three knights in the one cage bunching together and Arthur and Gwaine moving slightly in front of Merlin who was standing as far away from the wall as he could go. Three cloaked figures walked down the hallway and spread out in front of the bars holding the knights back.

“I see you are awakened.” The middle figure said. 

Arthur straightened up and spoke in his most regal tone. “I demand that you release us.” 

The three laughed. “Oh no, Arthur Pendragon, you will never see beyond these bars ever again.” 

“If it is me that you want, then please release my men.” 

“You’re men have committed as many evils as you and stand a threat to destiny. The only one here who we would consider releasing would be your pet sorcerer in the corner.”

Arthur’s heart pounded. They had just gone and brought up the very thing that he was going to postpone thinking about. Everyone turned and looked at Merlin who had stiffened. His face turned into an indignant frown. “Pet? That’s a bit insulting.” 

The middle figure stared at him. “That’s what you’re going to react to?”

“Well. Yeah. I like to think that I make my _own_ decisions but assume what you will.”

The person in the middle took a second to recover themself before shaking their head and continuing. “Well. As I was saying.” They moved their hand up and shook a fist in the air. “Join us, and help to bring the Once and Future King into power.” 

Merlin, much to Arthur’s shock, disbelief, and just a little bit of amusement, started laughing uncontrollably. 

The cloaked figure hesitated, and Arthur almost felt bad for them. Everything that was happening really was unusual compared to their normal capture.

Deciding to ignore Merlin’s cackling, their captor continued. “Arthur Pendragon is a threat to the future of Albion and the reign of the Once and Future King. We wish to serve Emrys, and his orders were to protect the Once and Future King. It is our belief that, by presenting the corpse of our King’s rival to Lord Emrys, we will be granted his favor and be marked as servants of Emrys!” 

“Who is this Once and Future King?” Arthur asked, worried about an enemy that he may have been ignorant to. He, like their captor, decided to ignore Merlin’s laughing (and other facts that had appeared).

“The Once and Future King is destined to unite Albion and bring magic back to the land! He will rise from the dead at Albion’s greatest time of need and Emrys will be at his side for all of eternity. All sorcerers should wish to serve him! What do you say?” The figure said, pointing at Merlin.

Merlin wiped a tear from his eye. “I think that there’s been a massive misunderstanding.” 

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, Merlin _wasn't_ actually a sorcerer then.

“What are you talking about?”

Merlin reached up towards the back of his neck. “I already serve Emrys.” He took his neckerchief off and moved the fabric of his shirt to the side, revealing a very obviously magical symbol right over his heart. 

Well never mind then. At the sight of the twisting triskelion covered by the outline of a bird, Arthur couldn’t deny the facts he had been confronted with. 

Merlin had magic.

Merlin had been seeing visions about a choice.

Merlin served someone who had evidently sent out a message to kill Arthur. 

He understood now. He understood why Merlin had been muttering about betrayal. With those realizations, he forgot about how Merlin had been slowly diminishing with the presence of that cuff, he forgot about his friend’s tears and apologies, he forgot about all the times that Merlin had pledged his loyalty to him.

Merlin’s true loyalty was present on his skin.

Merlin had betrayed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos keep me writing! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With his magic revealed, Merlin finds himself confronting their captors.

Merlin knew that it wouldn’t end well when he revealed the marking. Amidst the hilaria of the realization that they had been captured by these people because of a statement he had made to try and keep them  _ safe,  _ he had come to the conclusion that the only way out was to reveal at least parts of the truth and hope that Arthur wouldn’t kill him before he could explain.

It was hard, he had hidden so long, but the worst part was the look in Arthur’s eyes. The complete sense of betrayal that shone in them. 

That’s what Merlin had seen. 

That’s what he had felt.

That and the cuff that was slowly weakening him and draining his magic, his life force, out of his body. He felt empty, just like the vision had shown. The adrenaline of revealing his real self was the only thing keeping him standing. 

Arthur took a step back from him in shock, and Gwaine was scanning his face for whatever sign he was looking for. 

Their captors  _ panicked. _

Muttering apologies, they scrambled to unlock the cell and rush forward towards him. Two of them held Arthur and Gwaine stationary with magic while the other took the shackle around his wrist into their hand. 

“I’m so sorry about this. I know how horrible these feel. We didn’t know!” They unlocked the cuff and Merlin inhaled sharply as he felt his magic rush back into his body.

The warmth spread through him and he opened his eyes to see a faint glow around him start to diminish as his magic settled. 

He took a deep breath and assessed the situation. 

On one hand, he had to deal with the magic users. They obviously weren’t powerful enough or hadn’t been alerted as to how to sense his presence. They evidently also did not know the identity of the Once and Future King. He didn’t want to tell them immediately that  _ he  _ was Emrys, but he did need to do something to get them to let his friends go.

On the other hand, he now had the problem of most of the people he cared the most about in the world thinking that he was a traitor. 

If he tried to attack both problems at once, it would just be sheer chaos. One at a time then. 

He directed his gaze at the leader of their captors and tried to make it look like he felt more confident than he actually was. “Let us speak of Emrys then. Is there a private location at which we may discuss these matters?”

He could just make out a wide grin under the shadow of the leader’s hood. “Yes! We’ll take you there!”

The sorcerers gestured for him to follow them, and he did so as slowly as he could without it being suspicious. 

When Arthur was as close as he could be, Merlin quickly whispered to his friend. “It’s not what it looks like. I will explain when I get you out.”

Arthur’s heartbroken eyes stared at him, and Merlin hoped that the message had been received. 

Gwaine nodded at him as he passed, and Merlin knew that he would at least have one other person on his side. The other knights were silent as he passed their cell and entered the hallway. 

Once they were out of sight, the sorcerers took down their hoods. 

They had been captured by a bunch of teenagers. 

Merlin was officially labeling this as the worst day of all time. 

They stopped in what appeared to be a small, decrepit throne room. 

“How did you get a hold of this place?” Merlin asked.

“Oh.” The teen in the middle shuffled. “We got in on sale from some bandits.” 

“Of course. As one does.” 

“I’m Daniel.” The teen said as he gestured to his two friends. “This is Daisy and Grant.”

Merlin crossed his arms. “How old are you?”

They shuffled. “17,” Daisy said. 

“If you’re 17, what are you doing capturing the King of Camelot?”

“We thought it was the only way to join Emrys!” Daniel said. “We got kicked out of our village after they found out that we had magic, but we couldn’t find any druids in the area. We heard the rumors about Emrys and figured that our best option was to join him.” 

“So you thought that you would kill Arthur Pendragon. Have you even ever killed anyone before?”

“... we’ve killed animals before?”

And Merlin thought that  _ he  _ was bad when he was their age. 

“Did you plan any of this or did it just happen?”

Daniel looked at the ground. “We saw you in the forest and thought that we might as well go for it. Daisy’s a bit of a seer and had seen something about us taking advantage of an opportunity, we thought that was it.”

He was going to get a headache from this.

Merlin tied his neckerchief back on while he thought about what to say. “Do any of you have any idea who the Once and Future King is?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

Why did he even bother. He internally sighed.

“The Once and Future King is Arthur Pendragon, the man who you have locked up in the cells down there.”

They immediately paled. “Oh no,” Grant said.

“Yup. This is a big ‘oh no.’ What do you suggest that I do with you? Normally, Emrys wouldn’t tolerate any threat towards his king.”

Daisy stepped forward. “Please Mr. Warlock sir, my lord-”

“Merlin.”

“Merlin. Please. We didn’t know.”

“And yet, if I hadn’t been here, you could have killed off the Once and Future King.”

“Please, we’ll do anything to make up for this mistake.”

A plan popped into his head. 

“Anything?”

“Yes.”

He raised an eyebrow at them and smirked. “How would you like to make sure that this never happens again?”

They looked at him in confusion. 

“If you didn’t know that Arthur was the Once and Future King, that shows me a mistake that has to be ratified. I'll send you to the nearest druid camp and you will partner with them to make sure that the news spreads. Arthur Pendragon is the Once and Future King, and Emrys is at his side.”

“Emrys is…?” Daniel trailed off before realizing what he meant. He gasped and fell to his knees, the others figuring out the same thing.

“My Lord.” They said. 

He sighed and decided to take pity on them. “Get up, please. I hate it when people bow. Just call me Merlin, it’s the name my mother gave me.”

They shakily got to their feet, staring at him in awe. 

“Hold out your hands.” He said. They hesitantly reached their arms forward, and one by one he grabbed their hand and let his magic flow into them, the marking of the triskelion and the falcon appearing on their skin.

“Do you understand what I’m asking you to do?”

They nodded.

“Good. Grab your things.”

They scurried away from him to get their belongings as he tried to calm himself. Who would have guessed that all of his secrets would be revealed because of a bunch of teenagers who were ignorant of the real goings on. 

He knew that he would have to talk to Arthur soon. No doubt he was sitting angrily in the cell, plotting all of the different ways that he could take Merlin’s head off.

He hoped that Gwaine hadn’t decided to get confrontational, goddess knows that wouldn’t go well, especially with Arthur in his betrayal mode.

Watching the kids run around, he sent a message to Iseldir over mind speak to let him know that a bunch of untrained destiny harming teenagers were about to be dropped into his camp. 

Merlin received a questioning affirmation and knew that their next meeting would be interesting to try and explain what had happened.

Tracing his hand over the indent where the cuff had rested, his mind drifted to the conversation he would have to have soon. 

He would tell Arthur everything, he knew that. It was time. As he began to try and think of things to say, he paused and grabbed onto the nearest wall.

_ Not the time _ . He thought to his head, hoping that the coming vision would just go away. 

_ Oh but it is the time Emrys _ . The voice said as images flashed behind his eyes.

Yelling. Blood. Hitting the ground. The sound of a sword being drawn.  _ It is time for destiny to be decided. _

He gasped back into reality and found tears streaming down his face and a fading ache in his torso. He looked around and noticed that the teens hadn’t been aware of what was happening with him, so he quickly wiped the tears away and tried to steady himself.

Before he knew it, the three had arranged themselves near him with bags in hand. He walked over to them and smiled as kindly as he could. “I’m sending you to a close friend of mine. He will help you on your mission.”

They beamed. “We’re honored to be serving you, Merlin.” Daisy said, tilting her head. 

He reached forward and began chanting, calling up the power to send them where they needed to go. The wind whipped around them and he found himself at the center of a small storm. He hit the final word and released the power, sending the teens to Iseldir. 

The druid leader sent a confirmation that they had arrived, and Merlin sighed in relief. 

One problem down. One more to go. 

He grabbed the key for the cells that David had left on the table in the corner, and began the slow walk towards his judgement. 

It was time to come clean to his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You not believe how many times I typed Isildur instead of Iseldir. This is what happens when you like LOTR and Merlin.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos keep me writing! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur comes to terms with the truths that have been revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate all of the comments! You keep making my day :)

Arthur stood frozen in place as the sorcerers released Merlin, who only went to confirm the marking on his skin. 

The  _ traitor  _ was going to speak to their captors about this Emrys person, and all Arthur could think about was the sheer betrayal that had been revealed. 

He barely noticed Merlin pausing in front of him and, had he not been frozen, he didn’t know whether or not he would have tried to strangle the man or run away.

“It’s not what it looks like. I will explain when I get you out.” Merlin had whispered to him.

It’s not what it looks like? What was that supposed to mean? 

A sliver of hope glimmered in the back of his head. Maybe Merlin was just doing this to get them out. Maybe he really was loyal.

But the part of his mind he associated the most with his father ran in.

Merlin was a sorcerer. Merlin’s loyalty was marked. 

He had been betrayed once again, but this time hurt so much more. 

Emotions swirled within him and he barely noticed as Merlin walked away, leaving him and the knights alone in their cells. 

He broke down and fell to the ground. He could hear the knights calling for him, but he noticed nothing until Gwaine crouched in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders. 

“Hey. Princess. Snap out of it. Talk to me.”

He met Gwaine’s eyes. “Merlin…”

“Yeah. Merlin. He’s going to get us out.”

That was it, the confirmation that he needed.

“What?”

“Merlin’s working on getting us out, and then we can be on our way back to Camelot and have a long and calm discussion.”

A realization struck. He looked up into Gwaine’s eyes. “Did you know?”

The knight opened his mouth but closed it and thought about what to say. “I hadn’t spoken to him about it, but I suspected.” He shook Arthur’s shoulders. “He uses it for good. It’s still Merlin. He uses it for you.” 

Yes, that was right. Merlin couldn’t be evil. He couldn’t. He was Merlin. He was his best friend. 

“What about that marking?” Leon interrupted from the other cell.

That  _ was  _ a problem he needed an answer to. “Yes.” Arthur said, shakily getting up off of the ground. “What about the marking, Gwaine?” 

Gwaine crossed his arms. “I just said that I hadn’t spoken to him about it. How would I know?”

“How would you know that he uses it for good?” Leon countered. 

“Because he’s my friend.” Gwaine snapped. “He gets mad at us if we kill a rabbit! You can’t look at that and see an evil sorcerer plotting your demise. Besides, he could have killed Arthur thousands of times! He hasn’t! The only reason I’m here is because of Merlin’s faith in the Princess over here. If you think that he’s betrayed you, Arthur, then you’re one of the most ignorant people on the face of this planet. He never outright said that he didn’t serve you Arthur, let him explain.”

The knights all started arguing with each other as Arthur began to think about what Gwaine had said.

Merlin cried over animals. How could he be evil?

He frowned, Merlin’s language to the sorcerers had been very specific, he might have been trying to get around something. One the other hand, Merlin himself was a sorcerer. 

Arthur had killed sorcerers. 

Arthur had slaughtered Merlin’s people at the behest of his father.

He had seen the evils of the craft.

He frowned. Why would Merlin stay with him for so long? 

A horrible thought came creeping in. Merlin had said that he served this  _ Emrys  _ person. What if Merlin only stayed with Arthur because he was under orders to?

_ You’ll hurt yourself if you keep thinking so hard  _ said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Merlin’s in Arthur’s head. 

He sighed and remembered all the times when Merlin had pledged himself to Arthur. There had been no lie in his eyes, and there had been only sorrow and fear in them as he passed Arthur on the way out of the cell.

Arthur would not be able to know the truth until he spoke to Merlin. 

He turned his attention to the knights. Gwaine and Leon were screaming at each other through the bars as Percival and Elyan stayed silent in the corner. 

“STOP.” Arthur yelled. “This bickering will not help.”

His knights fell silent and looked at him. He crossed his arms. “There is more going on than any of us can speak of, and the only person who can answer is Merlin. I will not pass judgement until I know the facts. Merlin has only ever been loyal to me and to Camelot. He deserves the right to speak.” 

“He is a sorcerer sire.” Leon said at a whisper. 

“And has your own life not been saved by magic Sir Leon?” Arthur said. 

Leon fell silent and bowed his head. 

“Merlin said that he’ll get us out. It’s our job to wait and allow him to explain himself. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Sire.” Leon said, taking a seat on the ground. 

Arthur modelled his first knight and attempted to get comfortable against the wall. Gwaine came and sat next to him. “I’m proud of you Princess.”

“Thanks.”

“But I’ll have you know, if you react badly later on, I will be grabbing Merlin and getting him out right after I punch you in the face.”

“I do believe that’s treason.”

“It’s what you signed up for when you knighted me.” He swished his hair and smiled as Arthur snorted and fell silent.

They waited for what felt like forever before the sound of quiet footsteps echoed down the hall.

Arthur would recognize that gait anywhere.

He opened his eyes and waited for the tell tale figure to appear, but there was a sudden scuffing noise and a clatter. Arthur felt the urge to laugh as he heard quiet muttering coming from the hall and realised what had happened. 

Then he appeared. Merlin. With his head down. Keys in his hand. Dirt on his knees.

Arthur scanned his face and immediately knew that Merlin hadn’t betrayed him. He stood up, Merlin’s head lifting at his movement. 

He pointed at Merlin’s knees. “Did you just trip?”

Merlin looked at him with shock in his eyes. “Yeah…” he said. 

“You clumsy idiot, get us out of here.”

His friend looked at him with a glimmer in his eye and grinned. “Yes, sire.”

The cell was quickly unlocked and Arthur and Gwaine stepped out as Merlin unlocked the cell next to them. 

“Our weapons?” Arthur asked. 

“In the main room.” Merlin said, pointing his head towards the hallway he had come down. 

“The captors?”

“Gone.” Merlin frowned. “They were just kids. There was a misunderstanding.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow that would make Gaius proud. “A misunderstanding?”

Merlin pressed his lips together. “Yes. You have nothing to fear from them.” 

“Oh? How so?”

His friend gazed at him for a second as his mouth opened and shut, floundering for something to say. “They misinterpreted a message that should have been more clear.”

As Arthur paused to try and figure out how to respond to that, Merlin began walking down the hallway with a gesture and a mutter about their weapons. 

They all trailed after him through the dirty corridor.

“And what was this message that they messed up so much?” Arthur called.

Merlin went silent for a moment and looked back at him. “That the Once and Future King had to be protected.”

Arthur turned his face into an exasperated expression. “I’m pretty sure that they said that exact thing. How did they misinterpret it?”

They entered into the old and decrepit throne room that looked like it had gone through a war. Their weapons were stacked in a corner. 

The knights wandered over to the pile as Arthur stopped next to Merlin with his arms crossed. He could feel Gwaine’s glare from across the room, but he needed answers.

“How did they misinterpret it, Merlin?”

“They didn’t know who the Once and Future King is.” 

Arthur’s voice dropped into a dangerous whisper, this was the point at which he would know whether or not Merlin was a traitor. “And who is the Once and Future King?”

Instead of shying away and avoiding the question like Arthur expected him to, Merlin laughed and beamed at him. “You are.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos keep me writing! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin's vision comes to fruition.

This wasn’t going how Merlin expected it would. Arthur hadn’t accosted him in the hallway, he hadn’t tried to kill him yet, and his reaction to being told that he was the Once and Future King was to simply stare at Merlin in silence. 

It was uncomfortable. 

Merlin’s smile dimmed as he panicked. Should he have not told Arthur?

“Okay.” Arthur said calmly and walked away towards where Excaliber was lying in its sheath. He strapped on his sword and walked back over to Merlin, staring him down. 

“Everyone out. I would like to speak with Merlin in private.” The king commanded, and the knights all looked at him in confusion.

Gwaine spoke up. “No way am I leaving Merlin here alone, Princess.” 

“It’s fine, Gwaine.” Merlin said quietly, making eye contact with his friend who eventually nodded and reluctantly walked out of the room with one final glance at the two. 

They were alone, and it was all too quiet. 

Merlin was terrified. 

He had envisioned this moment so many times, but he had never imagined the quiet. The back of his mind reminded him of the vision that he had seen what seemed like hours ago. It still hadn’t happened yet. 

“When did you learn sorcery?” Arthur asked, quietly and coldly.

Here it was, the question he had waited for. 

“I was born with it.”

“That’s not possible.” Arthur snapped.

Merlin ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. “It’s rare, but it’s possible. My Mom has a lot of stories about me being an absolute terror as a child.”

Arthur nodded with a blank expression. “Okay.”

“I use it for you, Arthur. I use it for you.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” His friend said quietly.

Merlin was confused. He opened his mouth. “What?”

Arthur walked towards him and slowly placed his finger where the marking on his chest was covered by his shirt. 

“If you use it for me,” he said with the chillest voice that Merlin had ever heard. “Why are you marked with loyalty towards someone else?”

“It’s not what it looks like, Arthur-” 

His friend’s face twisted and he lunged forward, shoving Merlin onto the ground. 

As he hit the floor, Arthur placed his foot on his torso and unsheathed his blade with the exact sound that Merlin had heard in his earlier vision. 

This was it. 

Excalibur was placed lightly on Merlin’s neck. 

“It’s the LIES, Merlin!” Arthur shouted.

“I only ever lied to you about my magic!”

“Oh really?” Arthur’s eyes were glimmering with unshed tears. “Why did you come to Camelot? Why did you pretend to be my friend? Did you only come because this Emrys told you to? I TRUSTED you. I told you EVERYTHING.” 

Merlin's voice cracked. “You are my friend, Arthur. You’re my best friend. I only ever lied about the magic.”

Arthur leaned in and Merlin could feel the blade pierce his neck. “Do you only serve me because someone else told you to?”

Merlin had a few options. The sword was getting dangerously close, he could feel blood start to trickle down his neck, and Arthur’s foot on his torso was getting rather uncomfortable. He could just sit there and hope that Arthur didn’t take the information the wrong way, or he could stop this and then tell him everything. 

If this had happened before he had truly become Emrys, he would have sat there and taken it.

Now? He was Emrys, people depended on him. Destiny would never happen if he was killed in a fit of rage from Arthur.

_ This is the turning point, Emrys.  _ The voice he associated with his visions said in the back of his head. 

Merlin inhaled and closed his eyes. He had come to a decision.

He opened his eyes, irises burning golden, and whispered a spell.

Arthur was frozen in place, and was staring at him with an expression of complete betrayal. 

The warlock slowly reached up and pushed Excalibur away from his neck. Arthur’s eyes tracked his movement as he slid out from underneath Arthur’s foot and stood up. 

“I’m sorry for freezing you, Arthur. But I couldn’t afford for you to kill me in a fit of rage. When I’m done telling you what I have to say, I’ll release you and you can do what you will. I just ask that you listen.”

Merlin wiped at his neck and stared down at the blood on his hand before looking back up at Arthur who’s eyes had fixated on his blood. 

“I came to Camelot because I couldn’t control my magic. The only person with experience in the area who my Mom knew was Gaius, so I was sent to him to learn how to get it under control.”

Arthur’s eyes had tracked back to Merlin’s face.

“The first thing I saw when I stepped foot in Camelot was an execution, so I hope you can understand why I never told you. I was afraid, Arthur. I was so afraid.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t too long after that when I first heard Kilgharrah’s voice in my head. Kilgharrah is the great dragon, I found him chained underneath the castle and he told me everything about our destiny.”

This was the moment. “To answer your question about why I stayed? Well. I guess I really did stay at first just because of the prophecy. But here’s the thing, Arthur. No one ordered me to stay, and eventually? Eventually I stayed because you became my friend.”

“I’m not being forced to stand by your side, Arthur. I stand there because I believe in you! I stand there because I believe in the world you can build!”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m Emrys, Arthur.”

His friend’s eyes widened. 

“I didn’t know that I was Emrys until years into living in Camelot, and I denied it for longer than that. It wasn’t until recently that I decided I had to embrace my destiny, and you know the thought that allowed me to do that?”

He smiled at his friend. “It was your voice that told me I could do it.”

“I was taken to the crystal cave by the druids and came into the full extent of my powers. When that happened,” he tapped his chest, “this marking appeared on me and all of the people who swore themselves to me.” 

“I ordered everyone there to spread the message that you were to be protected. As evidenced today, some people misinterpreted it. I have dealt with that problem.”

Nodding to himself, he looked into Arthur’s eyes. “I have so many stories to tell you, so many things to reveal. I have done horrible things, Arthur. I have made so many mistakes, but I’ve done a lot of good. I want to tell you everything.”

“Everything is for you. I have never been ordered to be your friend. I have never been ordered to serve you. I never lied about our friendship. It was always my choice to stay with you, never doubt that.”

He took a deep breath and released Arthur from his spell. 

The king readjusted himself and slowly slid his sword back into its sheath.

They stared at each other for a moment before Arthur rushed forward and pulled Merlin into a hug.

The two began to cry. Merlin from relief and Arthur from too many emotions to decipher. 

The king leaned back and stared at Merlin’s neck where the blood had dried. 

“I hurt you.” Arthur whispered. 

Merlin smiled at him. “It’s alright. I hurt you too, just in a different way.”

Arthur paused and looked him directly in the eyes. “I want you to tell me everything.”

With a wave of emotion, Merlin's smile became one of sheer joy. “With pleasure.”

_ Destiny,  _ the voice in his head said.  _ Destiny, Emrys.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I relish every comment and had a lot of fun writing this! Take care of yourselves.
> 
> Comments and kudos keep me writing! :)


End file.
